Have you ever tried to fix something with the wrong tool, taken 5x longer, and frustrated yourself? Have you ever experienced the joy of having the right tool for the job and it made your effort so much more effective? As the Director of Campus Ministry Toolbox, I specialize in finding
and developing proven tools to strengthen the ministries of campus ministry leaders worldwide. One might ask, “Does the Church really need another tool?” or “If people are passionate about Christ, won’t they figure out how to share Him?” or “Don’t tools and strategies simply detract
from our dependence on Christ to build His church?” These are excellent questions that need an answer. Let me address these from several perspectives: missiological, historical, biblical.

Missiological (strategic)
God has always employed means to accomplish the building of His Kingdom. Like a smart businessman, or a wise builder, why not seek to use the best? God is certainly worthy of it. At times the church has been quite creative, imaginative, and effectual as it has been inspired and empowered by God to spread His glory and Kingdom over the earth “as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab 2:14). At other times, Christians have chosen tools and strategies that degraded God’s glory, promoted trust in their own strength, and resulted in the decline of the church. What
makes a good strategy or tool?

1. It preeminently promotes God’s glory among the nations, not a person, a method, the growth of a ministry, or the financial/political interest of the user. It is about God’s passion and purpose for His supremacy in all things for the joy of all peoples.

2. It is contextual for a tongue, tribe, or nation (metaphorically or literally). It values the culture, does not isolate new Christians from the culture, and seeks to reach the culture through indigenous missional communities or churches.

3. People do not blindly follow it as a recipe for success without prayer, understanding the cultural context in which they serve, or striving with great faith. Trusting in a tool or trusting in ourselves is never pleasing to God. All ministry is God’s work and apart from Him we can do nothing. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain (Ps 127:1).

4. It strategically equips the saints for effective ministry. This depends on your audience; for example, you would not use preschool materials on campus, because your “tribe” is college students. Here are a few criteria Campus Ministry Toolbox uses to evaluate the strategic value of a campus ministry tool or strategy:

• Empowers leaders with the vision, skill, heart, or character for effective campus ministry;
• Biblically accurate, intellectually thoughtful, practically innovative
• Simple, easy to use, and easy to pass on to others;
• Successfully field-tested in college ministry;
• Promotes high view of God, the Great Commission, Global Missions, God’s Word, and The Church;
• Applies across a variety of ministries, in various contexts, and allow for a variety of applications;

Utilizing tools or strategies is not contrary to faith; rather it should compliment our faith in who God is and what He has promised. We expect God to do great things. Therefore we plan and prepare for that. We know He will use us and we believe positioning ourselves to accomplish the
greatest good (strategy) using resources (tools) effectively to achieve the most fruit is honoring to God. He expects us to be the best steward we can be and multiply the resources He has given. We take the initiative in the power of the Holy Spirit, with confident faith, to strategically
accomplish what God has promised and commanded us to do. We should not waste our time with half hearted, ineffective strategies or tools. We must seek to be as effective as possible, so that He might receive the greatest glory and be enjoyed by the most people. We use whatever
means will be the most appropriate or most effective to reach our audience.

Historical (precedent)
We have much to learn from missionary pioneers such as Boniface, who preached in the vernacular of the people; or the monastic movement, which pioneered community development as a means of propagating the gospel; or the Moravians, who recognized and respected the Godgiven
traits of a culture and sought to establish self-supporting churches. One of the greatest pioneers in missions was William Carey. In his Enquiry, he proposed to “use means” for the conversion of the lost world.6 He believed Christians have a responsibility, a duty, an obligation to seek the most effective means of accomplishing the task of world evangelization.

We have not yet discovered all the means, tools, or strategies God can use to exalt His name among the nations and further His Kingdom. From history (and the Word), we know that the function of preaching the gospel to the whole earth can never change, but the form must change
depending on the time and culture in which we find ourselves. Thus new tools and strategies must continue to be developed as history unfolds and cultures change, as the Church evaluates it effectiveness in diffusing the gospel, and as the gospel goes out to unreached places.

Biblical
Did Paul have a strategy in establishing Christ’s Kingdom throughout the Roman world? Did Nehemiah have a strategy in securing resources and rebuilding the wall? Did Israel have a strategy to conquer the Promise Land as they sent out the spies? The use of tools and strategies is not foreign to Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul, urged the believers to adopt his strategy so they too might be fruitful for the sake of Jesus. Desiring to “win more,” Paul employed different strategies for different audiences for Jews, gentiles, the weak. He was culturally sensitive to our audience so that we are not the barrier to the gospel. He did all things for the sake of the gospel. The gospel motivated his strategy. He became all things to all men that by all means He might save some (1Cor 9:19-27).

Tools and strategies are simply the means we use to spread the gospel. He encourages us to “run in such a way that you may win the prize.” If we believe that the gospel is the most important Truth in the history of the world, then doesn’t it make sense that we should advance it like a runner in the most important race of his life? We strive, pray, and labor in faith the best we can.

The Last Word
So, does the Church need another tool? Yes. She needs many more good tools to aid, encourage, envision, and equip the saints. We need new ideas to open doors for the gospel, diffuse it effectively, help believers grow in their faith, and reproduce themselves among their people groups, so that God’s glory and Kingdom spread over all the earth. Passion for Christ does not mean effectiveness in ministry. Passion without wisdom can do as much harm as it can do good. More often though, fear is the problem that keeps us from impacting our world. Many Christians are afraid and do not multiply themselves or the gospel well. Sometimes it is from a lack of truth; sometimes it is lack of motivation; sometimes it is lack of knowing how. Tools and strategies not only aid effectiveness, but they can provide the tracks on which to run for those thinking “I don’t
know what to do.”

Do tools and strategies weaken our trust in God to build His church? They can when believers exercise unfaith. Every tool can be used in faith or unfaith. Everyone uses some means to spread the gospel. However, using proven tools in faith and hard work enlarges our ability to give God
the glory He deserves and leads more people to discover life in Christ. The role of tools and strategies is not a replacement for prayer, striving, and trust in the Lord. They are simply a means, for spreading God’s fame and Kingdom. Jesus is our motive, the object of our faith, and the source of our strength. Ultimately this is His work, but in faith we seek to be as effective as we can in completing the task He has left us here to do.